Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc. (NYSE:RYAM) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc. (NYSE:RYAM) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 2,440,100 shares, an increase of 28.7% from the February 26th total of 1,896,406 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,491,321 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days. Approximately 3.8% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RYAM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Rayonier Advanced Materials from $9.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Rayonier Advanced Materials in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Rayonier Advanced Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.00.

Rayonier Advanced Materials Price Performance

Shares of RYAM stock opened at $10.75 on Monday. Rayonier Advanced Materials has a fifty-two week low of $3.35 and a fifty-two week high of $11.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $720.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.70 and a beta of 2.14. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $9.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7.58.

Rayonier Advanced Materials (NYSE:RYAM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The basic materials company reported ($0.28) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $417.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $364.07 million. Rayonier Advanced Materials had a negative net margin of 28.65% and a negative return on equity of 19.70%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Rayonier Advanced Materials will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rayonier Advanced Materials

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nantahala Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rayonier Advanced Materials by 252.6% during the fourth quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 1,800,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,602,000 after buying an additional 1,289,490 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Rayonier Advanced Materials by 177.3% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,359,752 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,817,000 after acquiring an additional 869,486 shares during the period. UBS Group AG raised its stake in Rayonier Advanced Materials by 156.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 783,465 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,657,000 after acquiring an additional 478,500 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Rayonier Advanced Materials by 62.8% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 968,757 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,706,000 after acquiring an additional 373,522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Rayonier Advanced Materials by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,687,949 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,942,000 after acquiring an additional 348,589 shares during the period. 68.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rayonier Advanced Materials Company Profile

Rayonier Advanced Materials, Inc is a publicly traded specialty bioproducts company focused on the production of high-purity cellulose and engineered wood products. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, the company operates a network of manufacturing facilities across North America, New Zealand and Europe. Its cellulose specialties business produces dissolving pulps and high-purity fibers that serve a range of end markets, including food and beverage, personal care, pharmaceuticals and textiles.